Rafael Saadiq has found the perfect sound for the new Marvel show

superheroes, supernatural, and the ever-looming threat of the apocalypse is the latest Marvel game Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, have all the main products of the company. But unlike the MCU offerings, this is an animated children’s show.

Moon Girl, also known as Lunella Lafayette, is a teenager who lives in the Lower East Side and fights evil forces alongside a T-Rex. And like a black hero, her presence reverberates off screen. Recent Research found that less than 6 percent of the characters in children’s films and television are black, and even fewer are the main characters. moon girl hope to change.

These creators include Rafael Saadiq, an R&B polymath who has released beloved solo albums written by music for oscar contenders, and even found time to produce Beyoncé. In building the world moon girl, it drew inspiration from the real-life New York, which, like many other Marvel properties, is very important to the show’s story. (He even refers to close up of a favorite knish spot.) Before the show premiered on February 10 on Disney WIRED, I spoke with Saadiq about sesame street inspiration, the proven name of the Wu-Tang Clan and participation in a very different musical project.

WIRED: moon girl it feels like it’s trying to capture the full spectrum of New York sounds.

Rafael Saadiq: Definitely. There’s a lot of hip-hop, jazz, some funk. There is some R&B, a lot of salsa. It has many flavors. There are songs, there is a score, and there are 30-second screensavers. It gives me many chances to do amazing things.

What specific influences did you draw on?

There are small shoals that reflect the Wu-Tang Clan, which I am a big fan of. I chose something from my New York underground that people don’t know I do. I had the opportunity to play like I’m from New York. I remember driving in a car with [Tribe Called Quest MC] Q-Tip in New York in his jeep and we were listening to Roy Ayers’ “My Life in the Sunshine” and we were driving past people and I could see people dancing! This is what I love about New York. That was great [opportunity] play many parts of New York.

What were your goals for this?

I think the challenge for me was to give kids music that they probably don’t get every day on TikTok. They can take this in TikTok.

Was there a process of working on moon girl make you remember your early exposure to music through children’s television?

When I was a child, I watched cartoons, there were orchestras and a lot of good music. I was able to take this music with me when I got older. I wanted to do the same for the kids. Perhaps this is the first time they have heard such music. They can take it and do something with it.